From the
earliest biblical days adultery carried with it a sense of defilement, so that a
woman who had know contact with another man, even if by force, was considered no
longer fit to be visited by her husband (Genesis 49:4; 2 Samuel 20:3, <re
ibid>. 16:21-22; Book of Jubilees 33:6-9; Epstein, <Marriage Laws in the
Biblical Talmud>, p.51). The Deuteronomic code teaches that a woman who is
divorced by her husband and thereafter marries another man likewise cannot
return to her former husband (Dt 24:1-4). As the Lord said through the prophet
Jeremiah: "If a man put away his wife and she goes from him and becomes
another man's wife, shall he return to her again, shall not the land (his wife's
body) be greatly polluted?" (Jr 3:1; see <Targum to Dt 24:1-4)>. In
rabbinic law a woman who has committed adultery is "defiled" and
cannot remain the wife of her husband, but must be divorced <(Sifre on
Dt>, edit. M. Friedman (1864) 270 p. 122b; <Sifre on Numbers>, edit. M.
Friedman (1915) 7 p. 4a and 19 p. 66). Furthermore any intimate male contact by
the wife with Jew or gentile, potent or impotent, natural or unnatural makes
divorce compulsory <(Sotha> 26b; <Yebamoth> 55a, b, 87b; <Kethuboth>
9a, Babylonian Talmud<; Kethuboth> 25a; <Sotah> 27a, <Yad,
Sotah> 22, Jerusalem Talmud).

Betrothed

In Jewish Law a man betrothed to a woman was considered legally married to
her. The word for betrothed in Hebrew is <Kiddush>, a word that is derived
from the Hebrew word <Kadash> which means "holy"
"consecrated," "set apart." Because by betrothal (as in Mt
1:18; Lk 1:27) , or marriage, a woman became the peculiar property of her
husband, forbidden to others. The <Oral Law of Kiddushin> (Marriages and
Engagements) states; "The husband prohibits his wife to the whole world
like an object which is dedicated to the Sanctuary" <(Kiddushin> 2b,
Babylonian Talmud). We know from the Gospel of Matthew 1:14 that Joseph the
husband of Mary was a righteous man, a devout law-abiding Jew. Having noticed
that Mary was pregnant and that he, her betrothed, had nothing to do with the
pregnancy, Joseph had either to publicly condemn her and have her put to death
for adultery (Dt 22:22-29) or put her away privately. His decision was made when
an angel appeared to him in a dream, saying: "Joseph, son of David, do not
fear to take Mary as your wife; for that which is conceived in her is of the
Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will
save His people from their sins" (Mt. 1:20-21). The angel does not use the
phrase for marital union: "go in unto" (as in Gn 30:3, 4, 16) or
"come together" (Mt 1:18) but merely a word meaning leading her into
the house as a wife <(paralambano gunaika)> but not cohabiting with her.
For when the angel revealed to him that Mary was truly the spouse of the Holy
Spirit, Joseph could take Mary, his betrothed, into his house as a wife, but he
could never have intercourse with her because according to the Law she was
forbidden to him for all time.

Marriage to the Holy Spirit

We also have to take into consideration that when Mary was told by the
archangel Gabriel "Behold, you shall conceive in your womb, and bring forth
a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus" (Lk 1:31), he also added that
this was to come about because "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the
power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the Holy one to be born
shall be called the Son of God" (Lk 1:35). By stating it in those terms the
archangel declared to Mary that God would enter into a marital relationship with
her, causing her to conceive His Son in her womb, For "to lay one's power
<(reshuth)> over a woman" <(Targum to Dt> 21:4) was a euphemism
for "to have a marital relationship with her." Likewise "to
overshadow" (Lk 1:35) by spreading the "wing" or
"cloak" over a woman was another euphemism for marital relations.
Thus, the rabbis commented <(Midrash Genesis Rabbah> 39.7; <Midrash
Ruth Rabbah> 3.9) that Ruth was chaste in her wording when she asked Boaz to
have marital relations with her by saying to him "I am Ruth you handmaid,
spread therefore your cloak ( literally, "wing": <kanaph)> over
your handmaid for you are my next-of-kin" (Ruth 3:9). <Tallith>,
another Aramaic-Hebrew word for cloak, is derived from <tellal> = shadow.
Thus, "to spread one's cloak <(tallith)> over a woman" means to
cohabit with her <(Kiddushin> 18b, see also <Mekhilta on Exodus
21:8)>. Did not the Lord say to His bride Israel: "I am married to
you" (Jr 3:14) and "your Maker is your husband"? (Is 54-5:5; Jr
31:32)? And what is more intimate than what the Lord said to His bride:
"You developed, you grew, you came to full womanhood; your breasts became
firm and your hair grew... you were naked... and I saw that you were now old
enough for love so I spread my cloak over you... I gave you My oath, I entered
into a covenant with you and you became Mine, says the Lord God" (Ezk 16:7,
8).

Mary prohibited to Joseph

Having been enlightened by an angel in a dream regarding her pregnancy, and
perhaps further by Mary concerning the words of the archangel Gabriel to her at
the Annunciation, Joseph knew that God had conducted himself as a husband in
regard to Mary. She was now prohibited to him for all time, and for the sake of
the Child and Mary he could only live with her in an absolutely chaste
relationship. Living a celibate life within marriage was not unknown in Jewish
tradition. It was told that Moses, who was married, remained continent the rest
of his life after the command to abstain from sexual intercourse (Ex 19:15)
given in preparation the seventy elders abstained thereafter from their wives
after their call, and so did Eldad and Medad when the spirit of prophecy came
upon them; indeed it was said that the prophets became celibate after the Word
of the Lord communicated with them <(Midrash Exodus Rabbah> 19; 46.3; <Sifre
to Numbers> 99 sect. 11; <Sifre Zutta> 81-82, 203-204; <Aboth Rabbi
Nathan> 9, 39; <Tanchuman> 111, 46; <Tanchumah Zaw> 13; 3 <Petirot
Moshe> 72; <Shabbath> 87a; <Pesachim> 87b, Babylonian Talmud).

Celibacy according to tradition

Elijah and Elisha were celibate al their lives <(Zohar Hadash> 2:1;
<Midrash Mishlei> 30, 105, <Pirke Rabbi Eliezer> 33). When for the
sake of the Torah (i.e., intense study in it), a rabbi would abstain from
relations with his wife, it was deemed permissible, for he was then cohabiting
with the Shekinah (the "Divine Presence") in the Torah <(Zohar re
Gn> 1:27; 13:3 and Psalm 85:14 in the <Discourse of Rabbi Phineas to
Rabbis Jose, Judah, and Hiya)>. It is well known that the rabbis spoke
concerning the obligation of all males to be married and procreated: "He
who abstains from procreation is regarded as though he had shed blood"
(Rabbi Eliezer in <Yebamoth> 63b, Babylonian Talmud; see also <Shulkhan
Aruch (Code of Jewish Law) >section< Evenhar-Ezer> 1:1,3,4). According
to <Yebamoth> 62b, B.T. a man is only half a man without a wife, citing
Genesis 5:2 where it is said: "Male and female He (God) created them and
blessed them, and called their name Adam (lit. "Man").

Nevertheless, "if a person cleaves to the study of the Torah (i.e.,
dedicates all his time to it) like Simeon ben Azzai, his refusal to marry can be
condoned" <(Skulkhan Arukh EH> 1:4). Rabbinic scholar Simeon ben
Azzai (early second century A.D.) was extraordinary in his learning: "with
the passing of Ben Azzai diligent scholars passed from the earth"
<(Sotah> 9:15). He never married and was celibate all his life so as not
to be distracted from his studies, and because he considered the Torah his wife,
for who he always yearned with all his soul <(Yebamoth> 63b). He was an
outstanding scholar <(Kiddushin> 20a, B.T.) and also renowned for his
saintliness <(Berakoth> 57b, B.T.).

Other celibates

Jewish tradition also mentions the celibate Zenu'im (lit. "chaste
ones") to whom the secret of the Name of God was entrusted, for they were
able to preserve the Holy Name in "perfect purity" <(Kiddushin>
71a; <Midash Ecclesiastes Rabbah> 3:11; <Yer. yoma> 39a, 40a). Those
in hope of a divine revelation consequently refrained from sexual intercourse
and were strict in matters of purity (Enoch 83:2; Revelation 14:2-5). Philo
(<Apol. pro Judaeis> IX, 14-17), Josephus, <(Antiq>. XVIII. 21) and
Hipploytus (<Philosophumena> IX, IV, 28a) wrote on the celibacy of the
Jewish Essenes hundreds of years before the discovery of their settlements in
Qumran by the Dead Sea. Philo Judaeus (c. 20 B.C.-50 A.D.), a Jewish
philosopher, described Jewish women who were virgins who have kept their
chastity not under compulsion, like some Greek priestesses, but of their own
free will in their ardent yearning for Wisdom. "Eager to have Wisdom for
their life-mate, they have spurned the pleasures of the body and desire no
mortal offspring but those immortal children which only the soul that is dear to
God can bring forth to birth" (Philo, <Cont>. 68; see also Philo,
<Abr>. 100).

For "the chaste are rewarded by receiving illumination from the
concealed heavenly light" <(Zohar> 11. 229b-230a). Because "if
the understanding is safe and unimpaired, free from the oppression of the
iniquities or passions... it will gaze clearly on all that is worthy of
contemplation" (Philo, <Sob>. 1.5). Conversely, "the
understanding of the pleasure-loving man is blind and unable to see those things
that are worth seeing... the sight of which is wonderful to behold and
desirable" (Philo, <Q. Gen>.IV.245).

Joseph as celibate caretaker

As the recipient of the great revelation that what was conceived in the womb
of Mary, his betrothed, was of the Holy Spirit and that the Child to be born was
destined to save His people from their sins, surely Joseph knew that he was
called to take care of Mary and her Child, the Messiah, for the rest of his
life, which is why the angel told him to take Mary as his wife. We may
reasonable assume that Mary herself now shared with him all that the archangel
Gabriel said to her. No less a Person than "the Son of God" (Lk 1:35)
was to be entrusted to his care under the shelter of his humble home, now become
the Holy of Holies. Jewish tradition mentions that, although the people had to
abstain from sexual relations with their wives for only three days prior to the
revelation at Mount Sinai (Ex 19:15), Moses chose to remain continent the rest
of his life with the full approval of God. The rabbis explained that this was so
because Moses knew that he was appointed to personally commune with God, not
only at Mount Sinai but in general throughout the forty years of sojourning in
the wilderness. For this reason Moses kept himself "apart from woman,"
remaining in the sanctity of separation to be at the beck and call of God at all
times; they cited God's command to Moses in Deuteronomy 5:28 <(Midrash Exodus
Rabbah> 19:3 and 46.3). Again, we may be sure that Saint Joseph remained
celibate all his life because throughout his married years he was in daily
attendance and communication with Jesus, the incarnate Word of God.

<This article was written by Brother Anthony M. Opisso, M.D., who has been
a hermit for the past thirty-one years. He lives in the woods of the Cistercian
Abby in Rogersville, New Brunswick. Born in Manila, in the Philippines, he is a
physician-surgeon graduate of Loyola University Medical School, Chicago,
Illinois (1950). A Scriptural and Rabbinic scholar, he is the author of five
books: The Bread of God, The Secret Joy of Repentance, The Revelation of
Bethlehem, The Revelation of the Son of Man and The Book of Understanding.

Copyright (c) 1995 by the Association of Hebrew Catholics. All Righs
Reserved. Used by permission. Copies of this article in booklet form may be
obtained for $2.00 postpaid from the Association of Hebrew Catholics, P.O. Box
798, Highland, NY 12528 (phone 914-691-6496). Bulk orders of 10 or more copies
are available at a discount.>